Wikipedia:Explain jargon
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This guideline is a part of the English Wikipedia's Manual of Style. Editors should follow it, except where common sense and the occasional exception will improve an article. Before editing this page, please make sure that your revision reflects consensus. |
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[edit] Subject-specific terms
Explain jargon when you use it to help the reader understand the terminology (see jargon). Remember that the person reading your article might not be someone educated or versed in your field, and so might not understand the subject-specific terms from that field. Terms which may go without a definition in an academic paper or a textbook may require one in Wikipedia.
The first time an article uses a term that may not be clearly understood by a reader, such as the terminology of a science, art, philosophy, etc., or the jargon of a particular trade or profession, introduce it with a short, clear explanation perhaps based on terms previously defined in the article. Beware of inaccuracies accompanying short explanations of technical terms with precise meanings. Be sure to make use of the Wiki format and link the term if there is a relevant article.
{{Cleanup-jargon}} can be used to tag articles with jargon problems.
[edit] Wikipedia jargon
Avoid using Wikipedia jargon on Wikipedia. All policy documents have English names that relate to their content, and these names should always be used the first time they are mentioned in any discussion or talk page section. For instance, don't write WP:BRD, write Wikipedia:BOLD, revert, discuss cycle (WP:BRD), so that people scanning the page will understand what you're talking about. Repeated use in a discussion may use the shortcut identifier (BRD) or the shortcut itself (WP:BRD). It is best not to initiate a discussion about policy solely by referring to it by its shortcut.
[edit] Glossaries
If it is convenient to bundle all terms and their definitions in a list, the list should use the appropriate definition list markup: Instead of
*'''term''': definition
use
; term : definition
If a glossary is provided, any jargon used in the article should be hyperlinked to the glossary. Be careful to explain any jargon used in the glossary, until you've reached terms that ordinary educated people should understand.
[edit] Mathematics
This guideline is especially important for articles related to mathematics. In this context, "jargon" includes special symbols; as a rule of thumb, if expressing an equation requires LaTeX (as most do), do not assume the reader will understand what it means. It is also considered polite (but not always necessary) to explain how the symbols are read, e.g. "A ⇔ B means A is true if and only if B is true". Much of the hassle and redundancy can often be mitigated by providing a link to the extremely helpful table of mathematical symbols and providing a simple warning/disclaimer, such as at the top of the prisoner's dilemma article.
